Hitherto, photolithography has been adopted for microfabrication or for formation of fine elements in extensive fields including the manufacture of semiconductor integrated circuits such as LSIs, the preparation of FPD screens, and the production of circuit boards for color filters, thermal heads and the like. In the photolithography, a positive- or negative-working photosensitive resin composition is employed for resist pattern formation. Widely used examples of the positive-working photoresist include a photosensitive resin composition comprising an alkali-soluble resin and a photosensitive substance of quininediazide compound.
Meanwhile, according as the integration degree of LSIs has needed to be increased more and more recently, it has been required to increase fineness of resist patterns. In order to meet this requirement, it is becoming practical for a lithographic process to use radiation of shorter wavelength such as an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) ray (13 nm), a KrF excimer laser beam (248 nm), an ArF excimer laser beam (193 nm), an X-ray, an electron beam or the like. For coping with finer fabrication, the photoresist used in microfabrication must be a photosensitive resin composition capable of giving a pattern of high resolution. Further, it is also desired that the photosensitive resin composition be improved not only in resolution but also in sensitivity and in accuracy on shape and dimension of the pattern. In view of that, a “chemically amplified photosensitive resin composition” is proposed as a radiation-sensitive resin composition having sensitivity to the radiation of short wavelength and giving a pattern of high resolution. The chemically amplified photosensitive resin composition comprises a compound that generates an acid when exposed to radiation, and hence when the radiation is applied, the compound generates an acid and the acid serves as a catalyst in image-formation to improve sensitivity. Because of its high sensitivity, the chemically amplified photosensitive resin composition is becoming widely used in place of conventional photosensitive resin compositions.
However, in accordance with increasing the fineness in pattern fabrication as described above, problems such as pattern collapse and pattern roughness are liable to get worse. To cope with those problems, various methods have been researched. For example, it is studied to change or improve components of the resist compositions.
When a resist pattern is washed with pure water after development, the surface tension of pure water may apply negative pressure on the pattern. This is thought to be a cause of the pattern collapse. Based on this thought, it is proposed to wash the pattern not with pure water but with a rinse solution containing a particular component (see, Patent documents 1 to 4). Those patent documents propose rinse solutions for lithography, and the proposed solutions contain particular nonionic surfactants.
[Patent document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-184648
[Patent document 2] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05(1993)-299336
[Patent document 3] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 07(1995)-140674
[Patent document 4] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-146099